Nilles Lawyers

What Nilles Lawyers does

Nilles Lawyers is a privately held, traditional business law firm founded in 1920 and headquartered in a single downtown Fargo, North Dakota office at 201 5th St N. The firm operates with eight listed attorneys and provides legal services across eleven practice areas: Adoption Law, Business & Corporate, Business Litigation, Commercial & Contracts, Construction Law, Debtor/Creditor, Employment Law, Estate Planning, Insurance Law, Landlord/Tenant, and Real Estate & Title. Its primary geographic markets are North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota, with a stated ability to serve clients nationwide. The firm's go-to-market is direct client engagement via phone, in-person consultation, and attorney-led representation; pricing is quote-based, billed hourly, on contingency, or as flat fees depending on matter type.

The firm has no proprietary technology platform or AI/ML capabilities disclosed, operating instead as a conventional professional services practice. Revenue is generated entirely through legal service fees from individual, business, and institutional clients, with a notable concentration of insurance defense work representing insureds for over 100 separate insurance carriers. A wholly-owned division, Northern Title, extends the firm into real estate closing and title insurance services as an agent for Chicago Title Insurance Company across North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota. The firm holds industry recognitions including Chambers USA Band 1 (Commercial Litigation, North Dakota), Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and recognition as Insurance Defense Litigation Law Firm of the Year in North Dakota (Global Law Experts, 2016).

Customer acquisition relies on a traditional marketing approach centered on the firm's website (nilleslaw.com), Facebook, and LinkedIn, complemented by professional and community networks. Ownership follows a partnership/shareholder model typical of mid-sized law firms, with disclosed shareholders including Thaddeus E. Swanson and a former president (William P. Harrie). No external institutional investors, private equity, or venture capital ownership is indicated.

Name

Nilles Lawyers

Legal name

Nilles Lawyers

Website

https://nilleslaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nilles Lawyers is a Fargo, North Dakota-based business law firm founded in 1920 with 8 attorneys serving clients across North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota in 11 practice areas including adoption, business litigation, insurance defense, and real estate. The firm operates a wholly-owned title insurance division, Northern Title, as a Chicago Title agent.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111), Legal Services (5411), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Personal Injury & Insurance Defense (BPAHAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Real Estate & Construction Law (BPAHAAAE), Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) & Securities Law (BPAHAAAI), Document Preparation & Recording Services (Deeds, Liens) (BPAJAOAG)

Keywords

• Business law services
• Estate planning services
• Commercial litigation
• Insurance defense
• Real estate law

Headquarters

HQ city

Fargo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Traditional law firm revenue through client engagements for legal services across multiple practice areas including adoption, business/corporate, litigation, real estate, estate planning, and insurance defense. Fees billed hourly, contingency, or flat fee depending on matter type.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Nilles Lawyers is a full-service law firm providing legal counsel and representation across 11 practice areas including adoption law, business and corporate law, business litigation, commercial contracts, construction law, debtor/creditor law, employment law, estate planning, insurance law, landlord/tenant law, and real estate/title. The firm serves individuals, businesses, and institutional clients across North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota, with its Northern Title division providing closing services and title insurance for real estate transactions.

Product overview

Nilles Lawyers is a single-location law firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of 11 legal service practice areas covering Adoption Law, Business & Corporate, Business Litigation, Commercial & Contracts, Construction Law, Debtor Creditor Law, Employment Law, Estate Planning, Insurance Law, Landlord Tenant Law, and Real Estate & Title. The firm operates Northern Title, a division providing title insurance policies and closing services for residential and commercial real estate transactions throughout North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota. The practice areas are delivered as distinct service offerings by the firm's attorneys rather than as a unified software platform or modular product architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Northern Title: A division of Nilles Lawyers that provides comprehensive closing services and transactional support for regional lenders, individuals, and companies in both residential and commercial real estate matters, operating as an agent for Chicago Title Insurance Company.

Products and services

• Adoption Law Legal assistance for adoptive parents and child-placing agencies, including international and step-parent adoptions, voluntary termination of parental rights, gestational carrier agreements, and parental establishment. Includes the only North Dakota attorney member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys.
• Business & Corporate Legal guidance for businesses at every stage, covering entity selection and formation (LLCs, corporations, partnerships, non-profits), joint ventures, mergers and buyouts, employee stock ownership plans, asset protection, corporate governance, capital formation, and business succession planning.
• Business Litigation Trial and arbitration representation for companies, from startups to Fortune 500 institutions, with expertise in alternative dispute resolution including mediation and arbitration.
• Commercial & Contracts Legal services for commercial transactions and contract negotiation, including loan agreements, real estate mortgages, secured transactions, stock and asset purchases, and contract drafting and review.
• Construction Law Legal representation for contractors, design-build firms, subcontractors, suppliers, owners, developers, architects, and engineers, covering contract negotiation through contested litigation, as well as OSHA and MSHA compliance.
• Debtor Creditor Law Creditor representation for collecting unpaid invoices, covering prejudgment collection, attachment, replevin, asset discovery, confessions of judgment, security agreements, bankruptcy proceedings, and loan workouts.
• Employment Law Employer counseling and representation covering hiring, promotion, accommodation, investigation, discipline, termination, harassment and discrimination (Title VII), FMLA, ADA, FLSA, wage and hour matters, and employee handbook training.
• Estate Planning Personal counseling for estate administration planning including wills, trusts, estate and trust administration, premarital agreements, estate tax planning, guardianship and conservatorships, estate litigation, and probate.
• Insurance Law Defense of personal injury lawsuits, premises liability lawsuits, insurance coverage disputes, and first-party actions for insurance carriers, having represented thousands of insureds for over one hundred insurance carriers.
• Landlord Tenant Law Legal assistance for landlords and tenants covering lease negotiation and drafting for residential, commercial, and farm leasing in North Dakota and Minnesota, as well as commercial and residential eviction representation.
• Real Estate & Title Legal expertise in all aspects of real estate matters, including purchase and sale agreements, deed preparation, leases, options, rights of first refusal, real estate financing, mortgages, and foreclosure.
• Northern Title A division of Nilles Lawyers that provides comprehensive closing services and transactional support for regional lenders, individuals, and companies in both residential and commercial real estate matters, operating as an agent for Chicago Title Insurance Company.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Chicago Title Insurance CompanycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNilles Lawyers attorney Andrew Noah serves as an agent for Chicago Title Insurance Company, enabling the firm to provide title insurance policies for residential and commercial real estate transactions throughout North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota.
• Northern TitlecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthern Title is a division of Nilles Lawyers that provides comprehensive closing services and transactional support for regional lenders, individuals, and companies in both residential and commercial real estate matters.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Lathrop GPM LLP: Minneapolis-based full-service law firm serving Midwest clients across business, litigation, real estate, and insurance practices. Overlaps with Nilles' practice footprint but operates at a much larger scale with offices across multiple states.
• Dorsey & Whitney LLP: AmLaw 200 Minneapolis-headquartered firm with national and international footprint. Competes with Nilles for larger corporate and litigation matters in the Upper Midwest but operates at a fundamentally different scale and breadth.
• Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. Minneapolis-based full-service Midwest law firm with significantly broader geographic reach and practice depth. Competes with Nilles for upper-mid-market corporate clients in Minnesota and the Dakotas, but at a much larger scale and broader portfolio.
• Husch Blackwell LLP: Multi-jurisdiction Midwest-based law firm with comparable practice areas (business, real estate, insurance, employment). Larger and more geographically diversified, competing for the same regional corporate clients as Nilles.

Direct peers

• Ohnstad Twichell, P.C. West Fargo, North Dakota-based regional law firm offering comparable business, real estate, litigation, and estate planning services. Competes head-to-head with Nilles in the Fargo metropolitan legal market.
• Serkland Law Firm: Fargo, North Dakota-based law firm with overlapping practice areas in business law, litigation, real estate, and insurance defense. Closely comparable in size, scope, and regional positioning to Nilles Lawyers.
• Pearce Durick PLLC: Bismarck, North Dakota-based full-service law firm serving similar clients across the Dakotas with comparable practice areas in business, litigation, energy, and real estate law. Direct competitor in the broader North Dakota legal market.
• Vogel Law Firm: Fargo, North Dakota-based full-service law firm with comparable practice areas including business, litigation, real estate, estate planning, and insurance defense. Directly competes with Nilles in the same regional market for similar individual and business clients.

Others

• American Academy of Adoption Attorneys: Credentialing organization of which William Harrie is the sole North Dakota member. Not a competitor but a credentialing ecosystem participant whose membership confers Nilles' exclusive adoption law positioning in the state.
• Chicago Title Insurance Company: National title insurance underwriter for which Nilles' Northern Title division acts as an agent. Ecosystem participant rather than competitor, but directly enables Nilles' title insurance and real estate closing service line.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NillesLaw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nilles-law-firm
• Xx.com/NillesLaw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nilles Lawyers